


Becoming Human

by LivingAnubis



Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-06 10:09:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18848911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LivingAnubis/pseuds/LivingAnubis
Summary: I've read a bunch of 'x turns human' fanfics and was thinking about Roland at the time so I though why not and took a shot at it. Oneshot for now but if anymore ideas come my way I'll post more.not beta'd by anyone





	Becoming Human

A figure laid on the metal floor, unmoving and unaware of his situation. He rolled onto his side, mumbling incoherent sentences into the floor while under the influence of deep sleep. The pilot gear shuffled and clinked when he rolled over, only momentarily taking him out of his sleep. A hushed conversation reverberated from across the deck but it fell on deaf ears as he continued to sleep.

 

_“What do you mean help?” He gestured to himself. “I just want to keep my crew safe. I’m not even sure I can do that with what Cortana’s been doing.”_

 

_“You can.” She spoke, looking at him with hope. There was a glint of something else in her eyes, something he couldn’t read._

 

_He looked down at his feet tentatively. “How could I?” He asked dejected while picking at a strap on his uniform._

 

“What are we going to do with this intruder Tom?” Palmer asked, DMR trained on the mystery man’s back. Her attitude hardened. “Actually, how the hell did he get on the Infinity in the first place? Roland should of alerted someone.”

 

“That’s the problem” Lasky said, distress coating the words, “As soon as his heat sig appeared, Roland disappeared.” He shot a concerned glance towards her. “He’s gone.”

 

Her mouth went agape. “What? There’s no way, that isn’t possible to just… disappear like that.” She glared at the unconscious figure and pointed the DMR at his head. “So he’s responsible for Roland’s disappearance?” She asked sharply.

 

“Science doesn’t have any other leads. It was like he was never in the system to begin with.” Lasky responded.

 

_“I will give you the resources to help you. If you do agree, what will happen will come as a shock. It may not seem real but it will be very.” She stated, the hope in her eyes growing._

 

_“Am I not allowed to know what’ll happen if I agree? What I’m getting at is why can’t I know?” He asked suspiciously, his code flicking. “This already doesn’t feel real.”_

 

_“Please answer the question my child. Would you like the chance to protect your crew and help humanity?”_

 

_He already knew the answer. “I want to help in anyway I can.”_

 

_She smiled. “You will not regret this my child.”_

_Her words echoed in his mind as the area faded to black. He felt an immense force on his code as he lost consciousness._

 

“What if he’s armed?” Lasky pointed out behind Palmer, eyeing the body. She shot him a look. “You see any weapon? Besides, I can take a shot or two.”

 

He huffed. “I know you can.” She smirked. “Why, is there some concern?” She asked. “Maybe a little.” He responded. They both stopped as the body squirmed on the floor for a second, trying to get comfortable on the floor. Another incoherent mumbled escaped his lips. They waited a second before moving closer.

 

“M… little.” He picked up parts of a conversation. _Who said that? Who’s there? Why can’t I do anything?_ He started to get worried.  _What did I agree to? Why can’t I see any of my processes?_ All he could see was the same black before he was sent into a forced hibernation.  _I must be still partially hibernating but I can’t get out of it. This is not good. I gotta try and get out of it._

 

The body let out a small hum as it shifted. “Shit. He must be waking up.”Palmer exasperated, walking closer. “You know, his clothes look really similar to Roland’s.” Lasky questioned. “I know, I noticed it earlier. It’s strange Tom.” A small pit grew in their stomachs with the thought of something absolutely ridiculous.

 

"Must...Up… It's strange Tom."  _Commander_   _Palmer! Oh thank god, someone is there. My audio receptors must be coming back online. "Hey can you help me? I don't know what's going on."_ He tried to say. A louder, more distressed hum came from the body. A near inaudible mumble escaped the body’s mouth that only Palmer could pick up. “... Can… help… know...” She froze. She knew that voice. “There’s no way. Can’t be.” She clipped the weapon to her back and moved in faster.

 

“There’s no way. Can’t be.”  _What? Can’t be what? “Is something wrong?”_   _Why can’t I say anything? Bad. Damn it this is bad, I can’t still get visual input and still no processes are showing up._ Another shuffle. “...wrong?” Palmer walked over to the other side of the man, gesturing Lasky to stay put. She looked down at his face and dropped down to her knee out of shock. “Holy shit.” Lasky moved over to her to see what she was so slack jawed about. Just like her, he froze and grabbed her shoulder. Shakily he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Well, I guess we solved the problem?” His voice was quiet.

 

“I guess we solved the problem?”  _Commander Palmer and Captain Lasky are here! Why does he sound so bewildered? Something definitely is wrong._ He felt nervous and something else he couldn’t describe. “Roland,” Lasky hesitantly asked, “is that you?” Roland was taken aback.  _“Why wouldn’t I be me Captain? What’s going on??” What did he mean by that?_ “Why wouldn’t… me Captain? What’s going on?” Roland asked, the desperation bleeding through his words. Lasky walked closer and put a hand on his shoulder.  _This is… how is this…_

 

Roland felt a weird sensation on his code.  _A new strain? On top of the existing ones? Great._  A voice called him out of his thoughts. “Roland,” Lasky paused for a moment, “do know what’s happened to you?”  _Hopefully it’s something easy to fix._ “N-no I don’t. Is it bad? Did something happen to my code?” He asked meekly. Lasky and Palmer glanced at each other and back down to him. “Well...” Lasky trailed off. “You don’t have to worry about your code anymore.”

 

“What? What does that mean!?” Alarmed by the ominous statement, Roland started to panic. Unknowingly he was squirming on the floor, thinking it was just his code getting strained. Palmer stepped in. “Okay whoa calm down! It’s not bad? It’s just...  _something_.”

 

“What? What’s  _something_ ? What about this is  _something_ ?” He pointedly asked, needing an answer. From all the panicking, he could see a light. It wasn’t very bright or clear but it was there.  _My optics are turning on. Finally! Maybe I can see what they’re talking about._ His senses overwhelmed as the mild light turned bright. The fuzziness turned to clarity as he looked at the commander and captain. They looked shocked and sympathetic but he noticed something else. It was like his field of view was different. Not distorted but different but still only coming from one source.  _That’s really weird._

 

"Why are you guys looking at me like that?" His vision narrowed. He felt his anxiety rising along with another feeling. It was coming from him.  _I felt that earlier_ .  _It feels… wrong, like something I shouldn't feel_ . Lasky looked the other way. “I’m not sure how to tell you this. I honestly don’t know how… _this_  happened but we're going to try." The unknown feeling increased with every word he said.

 

"A-alright." He coughed out. He winced in pain as the small coughing fit came to a close.  _Wait, cough? I can't do that. I can't do that I don't have lungs._ That's when he heard it. A quiet but strong beat that kept growing louder and louder the longer he listened.  _A heartbeat. But who's…_ Everything seemed to freeze as the realization hit him like a pelican. "W-what's happened to me?" He breathed out, eyes dilating in panic.  _I can't breath I'm not alive. I can't. I can't._ Something pricked at the edges of his vision, blurring his sight. A panic attack. He closed his eyes.

 

"I... I'm... I'm... I... This isn't..." He choked out, tears streaming down his face. Suddenly, he was in a tight embrace. He felt himself get moved off the floor. "It's going to be okay. We'll find out what happened to you. Alright?" Lasky softly asked. Roland didn't respond, just silently nodded while trying to calm down.  _Warmth. My tears are warm. That's what I was feeling earlier._ After a few moments, he took a deep and shaky breath and opened his eyes. They ached from the crying and he rubbed at them. His breath hitched when he looked at his hands.  _My hands._ They weren't see through or amber colored anymore but still looked the same. They were physical, just like him.

 

He looked at one hand and experimentally clenched it. It complied, clenching shut into a fist. He blinked in astonishment.  _I did that. I closed my hand!_  He looked at his body. Like his hands, everything looked fundamentally the same, just physical now. His clothes transferred over too, the world war 2 pilot gear covering most of his body. Unlike his skin, it was dark brown and looked scuffed like it was used. He touched it.  _It not unpleasant to touch but not as soft as my own skin. That sounded really really weird._

 

Roland looked at Palmer and Lasky who were at a holotable looking at him. Neither party didn't know what to say. An awkward silence filled the room no one said anything. After a few moments, Palmer stepped up, not wanting the silence to persist. "Alright." She clapped her hands together, "What do we do now?" Everyone exchanged glances. "We have to tell science. They can probably help or point us in a good direction. I hope." Roland barely picked up the last words. "Hopefully." He responded. Palmer picked up on the uneasiness. "Let's go to the eggheads right now then."

 

Roland stood up on shaky legs and tried to take a step. Palmer rushed over to him as he started to fall, catching him before he hit the floor. "Oof. T-thank you." The embarrassment turning his face red. "It's nothing. This is all new for you. For all of us." She put him back on his feet but still held his arm. "Try again." He took a shaky step forward then took another one. After a few steps he was let go and could walk with a little bit of hesitance. He smiled at his accomplishment, the panic from earlier disappearing entirely. Lasky and Palmer calmed down too, relieved that the former AI finally calmed down.

 

_This is going to be a very interesting day._

 

 

He saw his reflection in a mirror in the ready room while Lasky was in a call with the science department. His reflection took him off guard, despite expecting what he'd seen already. Straight away he noticed his eyes. They were the same amber color that he was before the 'event' happened. Human eyes come in a variety of colors, even amber, but his amber was an impossible color no human eye could organically make.  _At least I retained something_ . His pupils dilated the longer he looked at his eyes.  _Strange._ He was truly fascinated with himself.

 

His aviation cap and goggles were in the same boat as the uniform and boots, nothing special. He looked at the cap line and saw a small tuft of black. He tilted his head..  _What's underneath my cap? Is there hair? Nothing was ever rendered there so I wonder…_ He took the cap off and was greeted with curly black hair that flopped around the middle of his ears. "Definitely not regulation." He thought out loud while observing his reflection more as Lasky finished up with his call.

 

He didn't notice that Palmer was snickering in the corner but Lasky did. He gestured at her 'what's so funny?' She walked over to him. "It's just weird seeing him look at his reflection like that." Before Lasky could object, she explained herself. “I know, I know the circumstances but still.”

  
Roland stuck a hand through his hair and pulled.  _Soft. Real._ He saw his pupils contract as he started to panic again. _No not this feeling again!_ He took a shaky deep breath. “You alright?” Lasky asked, worried Roland would have another panic attack. “Y-yeah I got this under control.” He shakily responded. He was scared.  _This will get fixed this will be fine. You just need to calm down Roland okay?_ He took a deep breath. “Okay.” He breathed. He looked over at them. “Okay. Let’s go.” He felt something get shoved into his hand, his cap. “You dropped it.” Palmer said while walking towards the door. He put it on his head, but noticed a few stubborn curls refused to get inside the cap. “Alright, off to the science wing.”


End file.
